Clancy's Plea for Help
Lindsay Clancy's Former Mother-in-Law Testifies She 'Begged for Help' Before Children's Deaths
During the fourth week of Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, her former mother-in-law Susan Clancy testified that Lindsay was "begging for help" in the months before she strangled her three children on January 24, 2023. WSMV reported that the defense does not dispute she killed Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months) — the fight is over whether she was mentally responsible when she did it.
Lindsay Clancy's lawyers argue she suffered from postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness affecting roughly 1 to 2 in every 1,000 new mothers. She is now paralyzed from the chest down after jumping from a second-story window that same night. The prosecution says she planned the killings and staged the suicide attempt to avoid punishment, according to WECT.
Susan Clancy Describes a Woman Desperately Seeking Help
Susan Clancy, Patrick Clancy's mother and a fellow labor and delivery nurse, took the stand for the defense on August 18, 2026. She described Lindsay as "nurturing, very loving" but said she watched her deteriorate in the months before the tragedy. She testified that Lindsay was "begging for help" and feared she had become dependent on benzodiazepines — sedative drugs like Ativan — and could not sleep without them, according to WOWT.
The jury saw text messages between Lindsay and Susan in which Lindsay expressed that fear directly. The texts showed a woman aware something was wrong with her mind and pleading for support. Susan said she believed Lindsay was genuinely struggling, not faking, according to WMBF News.
Psychologist Says She Was Not Faking Her Symptoms
Dr. Paul Zeisel, a clinical and forensic psychologist, visited Lindsay in the hospital in February 2023 — weeks after the killings. He testified that she was handcuffed to a hospital bed and could not move below her sternum. He said he found "no evidence" she was lying about her mental state, according to Hawaii News Now.
Dr. Zeisel testified that Lindsay described hearing a male voice giving her commands. Mental health experts call these "command hallucinations" — a symptom of severe psychosis. The defense argues those hallucinations, combined with 13 different psychiatric medications prescribed over just four months, pushed her into a complete mental breakdown, according to WILX.
13 Medications in Four Months: The Drug Overload at Trial's Center
Between September 2022 and January 2023, Lindsay Clancy was prescribed 13 different psychiatric drugs. The list included antidepressants like Zoloft and Prozac, the antipsychotic Seroquel, sedatives including Valium and Ativan, and the sleep aid Ambien. Defense attorneys argue this rapid drug rotation destroyed her mental stability, according to KALB.
The prosecution pushes back hard on this argument. They say toxicology results show her medication levels were within normal therapeutic ranges on the night of the killings. They also point to her Apple Watch data, which showed a calm heart rate of 57 beats per minute shortly before the children died — arguing a truly psychotic person would show signs of panic, according to WCAX.
What a Not Guilty Verdict Would Actually Mean
Under Massachusetts law, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lindsay Clancy was legally sane when she killed her children. If the jury decides she was not criminally responsible, she would not go to prison. Instead, she would be committed to a locked psychiatric facility indefinitely, according to WKYT.
The case has also sparked a wider push in maternal health circles. Experts are lobbying the American Psychiatric Association to list postpartum psychosis as its own standalone diagnosis in the DSM — the official handbook of mental disorders — rather than a footnote under other conditions. Patrick Clancy has also filed a civil lawsuit against Lindsay's healthcare providers. The defense is expected to call additional psychiatric experts as the trial continues, according to 13ABC.
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